Scripture: John 1:35-42; Isaiah 49:1-2; Romans 7:15-19; Matthew 6:34; Exodus 12; Genesis 22; Isaiah 53 Series: Epiphany
Preached in Epiphany on John 1:35-42 (with Isaiah 49:1-2), this sermon contrasts our culture of immediacy — short-form video, auto-fiction memoir, the craving for unmediated orders from God — with the Bible as a rich, layered medium through which God transforms us. When John points to Jesus as ‘the Lamb of God,’ Andrew grasps the loaded phrase (Passover lamb of Exodus 12, the ram of Genesis 22, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53), yet Jesus refuses to give an immediate answer, responding ‘Come and see’ and asking ‘What are you looking for?’ Pruitt urges the congregation to sit with that question, to resist hollow immediacy (Cheetos), and to be a ‘Come and See’ church marked by patient prayer, service, and Scripture reading — inviting them to read the Bible together on Wednesdays.
Illustrations: im-mediate-etymology, social-media-reels-tiktok, knausgard-my-struggle, gita-quran-clarity, military-commanding-officer-order, cheetos-hollow-snack
January 18
Isaiah 49:1-2 John 1:35-42
The Lamb of God
Listen to me, O coastlands; pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born; while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. Isaiah 49:1-2
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). - John 1:35-42
We live in an immediate culture. We want things immediately. This word immediate is a funny one. We have the root word medium or media. Then there’s a prefix there that we don’t often think about.
Im-mediate. Im is a prefix like Un. Im-possible. Something that is not possible. Im-mediate.
Something that is not mediated. There’s no medium through which we are to see it and understand it. Social media is ironically a great example of this.
TikTok, Facebook, Instagram reels, and YouTube skirts are immediately present and then they’re gone. It is the instant, but there is not a medium to Interpret them. There is nothing to understand. You don’t have to sit there and think about, now what is she thinking about as she’s dancing to K-pop Demon Hunters in a Target? No, there’s no there there. There’s no subtext present. It is immediate. You don’t need to be trained at school to understand instantaneous videos. This is not a criticism of them, it is reality, and it is just an example. Immediacy is all around us: in shows people watch, even in the books people read when they read. Memoirs are now more popular than novels. Many novels are now memoirs in a newish genre called auto-fiction, which circles principally around this Norwegian writer, Karl Ove Knausgård, who writes about his life in a long series of books titled: My Struggle. There is no plot. There are very few characters. There’s nothing to interpret, no structure because he has this idea that any structure is artificial. It is not filled with expositions on language and music and love like Proust. It is also written in the first person as if the author is talking to me directly.
The Bible is not immediate. The Bible itself is a medium through which we connect to God, but the Bible itself is not immediate. If you’ve ever picked up a Bible, it doesn’t take long for even the most learned of scholars to ask themselves, what is going on here. There are, in fact, many other Holy Books and other religions that are far more clear. The Bhagavad Gita is very clear. The Quran is very clear and straightforward.
In the Bible, there are confusing parts that seem out of place. There are clear sections, and as I try to tell people: we should always, when we read the Bible read, when we’re trying to understand confusing parts, we should read them through the clear parts, but that means that that reading through is a medium, it is a pattern, it is a habit with which we read; it is not immediately apparent. Sometimes we just want immediacy from God. We want God to tell us what to do. That’s immediate. An order is immediate.
If you’re in the military and your commanding officer gives you an order: that is immediate, it is not for interpretation or nuance. It is clear. Sometimes we want that of God, sometimes we want that of people in our life, but that is an even more artificial form of existence.
The challenge of someone telling me what they want is that they actually have to know what they want, and we are so often as humans opaque to ourselves and our true intentions and desires.
As Paul says in Romans 7, so often we do the things we don’t want to do. We don’t do the things we want to do. Our desire and action and intention clash. So if we don’t really know what we want, how could we ever tell another person? And then if we’re actually in a position of being transparent and honest, what if they don’t like it? What if we’re vulnerable and they reject us?
The Bible is not immediate. The Bible is a rich text. It is the word of God, the witness of Christ for us in two different testimonies. We have the former testimony, called the Old Testament, and the newer testimony, the New Testament. Each witnesses to who Jesus is, who God is for us. For centuries, people have read and discussed and commented upon the Scriptures. There is also commentary interior to the Bible: what goes on in the older Testament inform the newer Testament. There are layers to the stories that we can dig into and explore.
The Bible is not immediate. It is not a tool to control our lives or to control the lives of others. It is a gift with layer upon layer through which we are transformed by reading and studying. Through it, we grow closer to God. We grow fuller into love for our neighbors. This passage from the first chapter of John is a good example of this.
People are with John the Baptist and John sees Jesus passing by He points out and says: “there is the Lamb of God.”
Now, to someone who is not Jewish, that phrase, Lamb of God, means very little. To a Jew, it’s means an enormous amount. We look at Exodus 12 and the Passover lamb that is offered. We look at Genesis 22 and the sacrifice of Isaac and the Lamb that appeared. We look at Isaiah 53, the Song of the Suffering Servant, like a Lamb to the Slaughter, all of those moments are embedded in this phrase. This is why Andrew gets it. Andrew gets it and it changes his life. He is looking for an order. He’s looking for something immediate. He’s looking for the Lamb of God. He’s been waiting around and he receives something different. Jesus says, come and see. It is mediated. Jesus doesn’t give him the answer. He says that there is still more to do. You have to come and see. You can’t know it right then. Gosh, Jesus, wouldn’t it be great if you just told me what you want?
Come and see.
Jesus begins this conversation, though. Andrew starts following Jesus and Jesus says something about it. “What are you looking for?”
This is the deep question for all of us and Jesus asks us straight up. What are you looking for?
The culture of immediacy today constantly confuses that question because it never gives us the time to think. What are you looking for in your life? What are looking for today? What are you looking for in a friend? What are you looking for?
Immediacy fills up our space so we don’t have to think about a question or a responsibility. It matches our shortened attention span. We never have to worry about what’s next because we are only looking at the now.
This is a cruel distortion of Jesus’s words in the Sermon on the Mount when he says, “Do not worry about tomorrow because today has troubles of its own.”
Immediacy tells us: do not worry about tomorrow, do not even worry about today. The only responsibility is immediate enjoyment. But it is hollow. It is like eating Cheetohs. Sure, it tastes good, but it won’t fill you up, it will only make you sick and then be starving again in a few minutes.
What are you looking for?
This is a question for us today and the answer is not so obvious. Each of us, in each of our separate contexts, should ask ourselves that question as if we are being asked by Jesus. What are you looking for?
Andrew gives a great answer. He says to Jesus, “Where you are staying?” Only then does Jesus say, “Come and see.”
We only look for what we think is good. In a world of distortion and brokenness, we still look for what is good. We will someday see Jesus face to face. Our eternal future with a God is time of unmediated connection to our creator. But for our time now, the medium of the Bible and the Church, of prayer and service connect us to God.
We hope to be a church where people can say, “Come and See.” Where Christ is proclaimed and also served and glorified. Where the Scriptures are read and studied. Where people feel connected and safe.
In this Season of Epiphany, may God show us the patience to pray without concern for the immediate. To serve even when it isn’t fun. To read the Bible, even the confusing bits. I encourage you to read the whole thing. You can start today. You don’t have to finish on New Year’s Eve. You could keep going. If you want to join me on Wednesdays, that would be great. If you want to pick a book of the Bible to read together, we can email back and forth on it.
Whatever the case, may we be willing to deepen our understanding of who God us and not stay on the surface. May we take this journey together. May we seek where God is staying. May we go there together.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.